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Master and Commander Posts: 1003 Location: NE Florida | Subject: Monday Obits (UK and USN) JOHNSON (UK) .. .. Commander Andy Johnson, who has died aged 76, commanded the submarine Onyx on covert missions during the Falklands War. When the Argentines invaded the Islands at the beginning of April 1982, Johnson little thought that his slow, diesel-engine boat, which would take a month to reach the islands, would be needed. On April 18, however, he was ordered to sail from Plymouth to Portsmouth to collect stores for war and to be fitted with a five-man chamber for deploying the marines of the Special Boat Service. On May 16 Onyx reached Ascension Island, where Johnson conducted the first replenishment at sea from a tanker for more than 40 years, and on May 31 he entered San Carlos Water in East Falkland. “We found the passage a trial, particularly after we left the tropics and entered the South Atlantic winter. Surfaced at night to travel faster: was cold, wet and uncomfortable. Dived in the day: was quieter, but slower, and it seemed we would be travelling forever.” Onyx was needed for Operation Kettledrum, a planned assault on Puerto Deseado on the South American mainland, a suspected base for Argentine aircraft carrying Exocet missiles. The operation was fraught with difficulties which Johnson called “unanswered questions”, not least poorly charted, shallow waters and the need to launch inflatable dinghies perhaps 20 miles offshore. Before sailing from Portsmouth, Onyx had laid a false deck of canned food and stores throughout the boat, in some places reducing the deckhead from 6 to 4 feet; even the shower was filled with stores and the 68-man crew were unable to wash except by dipping in a bucket. Yet when the crew was augmented by 16 Royal Marines, Johnson’s leadership ensured that there was no friction, and his visitors were soon integrated. Preparations for Operation Kettledrum included “wet drills” – surfacing, inflating dinghies on the casing, diving and surfacing again quickly to recover the marines. Kettledrum was cancelled, however, when it was realised that the Argentines had expended the last of their missiles and that, thanks to the efforts of the British secret service, there was little prospect of them acquiring more. Instead Onyx was dispatched to a more important target: the Argentines were suspected of having a reconnaissance team on Weddell Island in the West Falklands. There, on June 5, the marines were landed successfully at night and no enemy was found. However Onyx struck an uncharted pinnacle which damaged the bow shutters on two of her torpedo tubes. Thereafter the submarine spent two weeks as an early-warning radar picket off West Falkland. There was one last, sad duty: to torpedo and sink the burned-out hulk of RFA Sir Galahad, which had been bombed off Bluff Cove earlier in June, before Onyx began her homeward voyage on July 17. She reached Portsmouth on August 18, having completed a patrol of 117 days and covered some 20,000 miles. There was one minor miracle: one of her torpedoes had been “cracked like an egg” inside its tube during the collision off Weddell Island. When Onyx was docked in Portsmouth, it was found that the weapon was primed and could have exploded at any time during the 8,000 mile passage home. At dead of night, while the dockyard was asleep and cross-Channel ferries were stopped, Johnson and two volunteers used drills and crowbars to remove the warhead. He was appointed MBE. In 1995 Johnson contributed a chapter to John Winton’s anthology, Signals from the Falklands, in which he was reticent about the detail of Onyx’s operations. The public had to wait until the official history, The Silent Deep (2015), and Iain Ballantyne’s insider account, The Deadly Trade (2018), were published to appreciate the extent of Johnson’s achievements. Andrew Philip Johnson was born on September 20 1947 in Sudbury, Suffolk, where his father was a bank manager. From Culford School, Suffolk, where he had won a scholarship, he went on to Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. He began his naval career as a logistician and served as a junior officer in the submarine Artemis (1970-71), as careers liaison officer in the East Midlands (1971-72), as captain’s secretary in the frigate Charybdis (1972-74) and at the new entry training establishment, HMS Ganges, at Shotley in Suffolk (1974-76). From 1977 to 1979 Johnson was supply officer of the nuclear-powered submarine Superb, where a strong team conducting special operations in the Arctic was led by the future Vice-Admiral Geoff Biggs as captain and the future Commodore Doug Littlejohns as second-in-command. Johnson proved to be a natural leader whose quiet demeanour, mischievous grin, and complete unflappability marked him out as a potential commanding officer. Littlejohns persuaded Johnson to apply to become an executive officer; Biggs persuaded the submarine hierarchy to accept Johnson, and by 1980 he was on the “perisher”, the make-or-break course for submarine command. The future Rear-Admiral John Lang, teacher on the course, made no allowance for Johnson’s relative inexperience and was pleased to find that he found the course no more difficult than others more practised. After the conflict, Johnson proved himself to be a highly professional and much liked second-in-command of the nuclear-powered submarine Swiftsure (1982-84). Promoted to commander, he spent three years on exchange in the US Navy, but having commanded a submarine in the most trying circumstances, there were no more challenges for Johnson, and he retired in 1989. He began a new career in British Rail, rising to senior management on the Great Western Railway from 1994 to 1997. He also supported the Groundwork Trust in Plymouth. Moving to South Africa, Johnson founded Change Partners in Johannesburg, a successful executive coaching firm. He was also chairman of Bona Lesedi, providing daycare for disabled babies and children in Diepsloot, a sprawling settlement outside Johannesburg. Sailing, rugby, cricket, squash and, in old age, lawn bowls were his sports and he enjoyed woodwork, hiking, birdwatching, opera and singing. Otherwise, he was an unassuming and committed family man. He married Di Gilbert of Kenilworth, Cape Town, in 1973. She survives him with their son and daughter. CAUDILL ... ...Vincent I Caudill, 70, of Shapleigh, died Saturday December 2, 2023 in Scarborough. He was born in Bermuda August 15, 1953 the son of Robert and Priscilla Caudill. He grew up in Greenland, New Hampshire and graduated from Portsmouth High School. He went on to attain a Master's Degree and soon went to work at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as an apprentice. Vincent worked his way up the ladder quickly, becoming a nuclear engineer and working on some of the most advanced submarines in the world. Even in retirement, he recognized the individual submarines by simply seeing a picture. He retired in 2013. Mr. Caudill married his wife, Deborah in 2011. Soon after his retirement they moved to Florida but returned to Maine after realizing Florida wasn't for them. Vincent was happiest when tinkering in his garage on things mechanical or involving carpentry. He was a brilliant man who had a giving and loving spirit Vincent is survived by his wife, Deborah; their daughters, Cristian Bowker and her husband Jamey of Newfield, Amanda Anderson and her husband Chuck of Rochester and Rachel Morin and her husband Jeff of Waterboro, grandchildren, Ethan, Bryson and Maya Bowker, Elise Beerworth, Max and Reese Morin and great-grand child, Asher Beerworth. BISHOP .. .. May 1, 1937 - November 25, 2023 Memphis, Tennessee - Hal Douglas Bishop, M.D. passed from life while in hospice care at Baptist Memorial Hospital on Saturday, 25 November 2023 at age 86, with his loving wife and precious friends at his bedside. He was born in Jackson, TN, the son of Roy Douglas Bishop and Clara Agnes Pitts. Hal grew up in Greenfield, TN and graduated from Chester County High School in Henderson, TN. From early childhood, Hal knew he wanted to follow in the professional footsteps of his grandfather, a physician. He attended the University of Tennessee at Martin for pre-med studies and was admitted into the University of Tennessee School of Medicine, from which he graduated in 1961. When he learned he was about to be drafted, Hal enlisted in the Navy early in the Vietnam conflict and served his medical internship at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Chelsea, Mass. He was then assigned to the nuclear submarine USS Lafayette, becoming one of the first physicians to serve on a U.S. submarine. As part of this assignment, he was trained in hard-hat deep-sea diving. He served in this capacity for three years, operating out of Rota, Spain. Following his assignment on the Lafayette, Dr. Bishop completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the U.S. Navy Hospital in Bethesda, MD and went on to receive special training in pediatric orthopedics at Duke University. His last assignment was as general orthopedic surgeon at the Navy hospital in Orlando, FL. Dr. Bishop was very proud to have served his country in the Navy, and especially honored to have treated our wounded warriors flown home straight off the battlefield in Vietnam, many with original battlefield dressings on their wounds. After 10 years of active service, Commander Bishop resigned his commission in the Navy to join the medical staff at the Gulf Coast Community Hospital in Biloxi, MS. During his tenure there, he served a term as Chief of Staff and established the first hospice program on the Gulf Coast. In 1988, Dr. Bishop accepted a position as orthopedic surgeon for Health First medical group, a multi-specialty group in Memphis, where he practiced until retiring at age 65. In 1958, Hal married his high school sweetheart, Camille McCall, a native of Chester County. They were blessed with three children, Hal Douglas Bishop, Jr, (Denice) of Knoxville, TN; Marva Grace Sain, (Eric) of Henderson, TN; and Kevin Bishop (Juli) of Kosciusko, MS. In 1981, his wife Camille passed away. Hal was married in 1983 to Peggy Shea Patterson, a Gulfport, MS native and widow of Lt. Col. Mercer Howell Patterson, also a Gulfport native. Peggy has three children, Teresa Ellen Patterson of Atlanta, Linda Ann Iannuzzi of Germantown, MD, and Mercer Howell Patterson, Jr. (Marla) of Marion, IL. Peggy and Hal had 40 years of life, love, and deep devotion together. Dr. Bishop was predeceased by his father, mother, and first wife. He leaves a brother, Barry M. Bishop (Louise) and an adopted sister, Elaine Rodgers (Larry) of Knoxville. He also leaves four grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Hal was a great lover of music and an accomplished pianist. During his early school days, he participated in piano competitions held by the Beethoven Club and was awarded first place several times. He continued to practice the piano each day until his illness curtailed the pursuit of that passion. He also enjoyed playing racquetball and gardening. Growing beautiful flowers was a particular pleasure. Throughout his life, Hal had an abiding love of science and philosophy and read widely and deeply in these subjects. Dr. Bishop donated his body to the Genesis Legacy Program for medical research. A memorial service honoring his life will be held on Saturday, 9 December at 1:30 p.m. in the sanctuary of Lindenwood Christian Church, where he and Peggy worshiped for 30 years. | ||
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